Stranger in a Strange Land
by BlackCanary077
Summary: For Elijah, England will always be his home. Now, 100 years after leaving Mystic Falls, he returns to England where he takes his place one more as a Lord, and meets Princess Tessa of England, and she, unlike other girls, already knows of the existance of vampires. Elijah X OC. Sort of sequel to A Match into Water.
1. The Royal Families

"Tessa, darling, are you all dressed?" my mother came into my room, her long gown even more expensive than usual. Her reddish-brown hair was tied into an elegant bun, not a hair out of place. Her brown eyes were surveying me, strict, as usual.

"Nearly," I struggled to put on my flats while hopping on one foot.

"Tessa," she sighed, closing the door behind her. She was by my side in an instant. "Take those off immediately," Although she did it herself.

"Mother," I mumbled, walking around the room in only my skirt and bra. I still hadn't decided on what shirt to wear; my white blouse with a blazer on top, or, if I wanted to be really sexy, just the blazer. Of course, sexy would be reprimanded in this household.

"Wear your black heels please," she said as she began to walk away. "Did Magda come in to clean your room yet?" she snapped on her way out.

"Yes mother, this is my own doing; I'll put it away myself." I began to put on my white blouse, tucking it into the skirt. "May I change in peace?"

"Hurry it up," she snapped her fingers. "They'll be here within the hour."

I rolled my eyes as she shut the door behind her, walking over to the mirror to survey myself. I slipped on my blouse, running my hand through my thick auburn hair. I dabbed some lipstick onto my lips before applying mascara and eyeliner around my green eyes. Well, I thought, I looked good enough for someone who got ready in less than ten minutes.

I put on my shoes and cleaned my room quickly, not like our guests would come in here anyway, but I figured I might as well do what my mother told me. I made my way through Buckingham palace, giving out polite hellos to the butlers and maids before finally after many minutes, getting to the main entrance, where I was told to meet my parents.

My mother was putting on a fashionable scarf that went well with her dress; she always did enjoy looking more like an old fashioned queen instead of sticking to this day and age. Of course, I supposed that with the guests we were receiving, it was perhaps smart to get a little old fashioned.

My father had his arm wound with hers and had his other arm ready for me. His forest green eyes were bright with the same excitement they always had and his brown hair was casually up in the front. He had a nice amount of scruff, with many laugh lines that outlined his eyes.

"You look beautiful darling." He kissed my cheek as I interlaced our arms together.

"Thanks," I murmured as the doors were opened for us. We were greeted by the soft British air of September, one of the few times we hadn't caught rain all month. It was sunny enough that my father suggested we eat outside with our guests today. So, he had with his helpful men, set up a beautiful table in the gardens right by where the swans went to swim. It was my favorite spot.

"Are we meeting them at the sight?" I asked.

"No," my father walked us to the gates of the palace. "They will be arriving in a few moments."

_So much for within the hour_, I thought. "Are you nervous?" I asked.

"Not at all," he said happily. "My ancestors always had polite meetings with the Mikaelson's; I do not see how it would be any different."

"That's not what I meant."

Unlike other people brought up in families, my job as a child was not only about getting good grades and having proper ambitions. Even as a royal daughter, I still had one thing that separated me from other people. I had to be understanding of the world that lived within our own—the Supernatural world.

It was said that hundreds upon hundreds of years ago, the Mikaelson's were nearly a royal family themselves. The royal family of Britain had learnt what they were, but surprisingly the Mikaelson family did not do a thing about it. They had never caused a stir in England, and so the family decreed that the Mikaelson's would always have safe passage in England with no one to pursue them regardless of them being vampires. The condition was that every time they returned to England, they had to meet with the royal family.

Needless to say I was a little worried about having a meeting with a few people who drank blood as meals.

"They're here." my father said excitedly.

A black limo was pulling up at the golden gates which opened slowly for our guests. A nearby doorman went over to the car, opening the door and standing next to it, upright, so they could get out of the limo.

The first person to emerge was a _beautiful_ girl. Normally, I was very self-confident about myself. I loved my face, my body, everything about me. I had learnt, through the stages of my awkward adolescence to love myself. Now, being nearly twenty-four, I had grown into the type of person I wanted to be.

The girl however would make any person feel bad about how they looked. Her hair was beautifully blonde, thick, and went in waves, cascading down her back. Her eyes were baby blue and her lips were the perfect size and shape, not to mention her body. This, I knew from the pictures I had studied as a teenager, was Rebekah Mikaelson. She wore a beautiful red dress that had one strap on the shoulder. It was tight and went down to her knees. On anyone else it would have been inappropriate, but on Rebekah, with her appliance of shoes, accessories and hairstyle, made it look impeccably elegant.

The three brothers seemed to all majestically arise from the limo at once. They all wore suits, and they all came around the limo, the youngest brother, whom I recognized as Kol Mikaelson gave an amused look to his sister. Kol's eyes were alight with interest; he was devilishly handsome, with an arrogant smile. This was a man who knew how to get what he wanted I thought.

However, it was the two other brothers whom I knew had the real importance. In the texts I had read, there was always debates on which was the real leader of the clan—Elijah or Klaus. Each, in their own sense, led the families. I always liked to think of them as a team, in a way, neither one could live without the other. I did know however, that in terms of the country of England, it had always been Klaus whom had a higher status.

Both were incredibly attractive, well dressed and groomed, each somewhere between the perfect amount of stubble and barely having any at all. Their hair was quaffed to perfection, but Elijah, like Kol seemed to enjoy having his more up at the front than Klaus.

My father undid himself from us and walked up to them. I noticed that it was Elijah who took the first step forward to greet him.

"King Marcus," Elijah shook his hand, smiling. "It is a pleasure. Thank you for having us."

"Nonsense Elijah, the honor and the pleasure is all mine!" he said happily.

Klaus took a step forward then, reaching for the king's hand, who took it willingly. "Your majesty, it's nice to see you again."

"Klaus, is Caroline well?"

"She is, thank you." Klaus bowed his head. "These are my siblings, Kol and Rebekah."

"Of course, of course," he said, greeting both of them. "Come meet my family. This is my wife, Queen Victoria."

Elijah and Klaus stood on each side of my father while Rebekah and Kol brought up the rear. My father went first to my mother, introducing each Mikaelson to her, before moving on to me.

"This is my lovely daughter, Princess Tessa." My father said proudly.

"Hi," I said awkwardly. How do you even react to a thousand year old vampire?

Kol took my hand and kissed it, his eyes glinting like a mad man. "Princess Tessa, it is in an honor."

"Be careful with your flirtations Kol," Rebekah teased. "Your wife would not approve." She bowed to me, and I grinned back.

"Wife?" My father said as Klaus too, kissed my hand lightly. "Are you married now Kol?"

"Yes sir," he smiled. "To the most wonderful and beautiful woman in the entire world."

My father laughed. "I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you there Kol, the two most beautiful women in the world are right here!"

Elijah kissed my hand. "There is no doubt of that, your majesty." He said as he came back up, his brown eyes locking with mine.

"Well," my father said, taking my mother's arm again. "Come along, we have the whole afternoon ready and prepared!"

I noticed Elijah and Klaus exchange a quick look, in which Klaus nodded at his brother. The Hybrid wound his arm with his sister, giving her a reassuring look before they caught up with my parents who had began to walk. They began to talk immediately.

"May I?" Elijah held out his arm for me.

I nodded, used to this kind of treatment. "Of course, Lord Elijah."

Another arm wound itself through mine, and on my right side I found Kol, smiling. "Elijah, don't you remember how to share?" he winked at me.

"Lord Kol," I nodded my head.

Kol chuckled. "Oh, darling we aren't Lords anymore. That time is long and past."

"In England, sir, you are still considered a Lord, at least in terms of the royal family." I pointed out as we began to make our way to the gardens.

"If you say so," Kol laughed again. "I shall not argue with a princess."

"Kol!" Rebekah called from up ahead. "Come here a moment."

"Duty calls." He saluted me mockingly, and walked swiftly to his sister and brother, joining my parents. Elijah and I were only a foot or so behind, but I didn't mind. Whatever business they were discussing I was quite sure I did not need to hear anyway.

"This place never changes," Elijah reminisced as his eyes swept over the fountains. "England has always managed to be the one place that is stable, in this world of constant change."

"I would not know," I said honestly. "I haven't been many places. As for the places I have been to, it was for matters such as these."

"Meetings?" he inquired. "That is dull for a princess. When one travels the world, they should indulge in it."

"My mother is quite old-fashioned, I'm sure you'll see." I grinned. "She thinks the kings and queens back in the olden days had it right. So I didn't really have a normal teenage upbringing."

"Well," he said with a sad smile. "Mothers will be mothers. They often believe they know what is best for their children."

We came to the table then, between two gardens and in front of the swans. My father sat at the head, with my mother on his right hand side, and I on the left—Elijah pulling out the seat for me.

"Lord Klaus," My father rang. "Will you take the other head of the table?"

Klaus smiled and obliged, heading down on the other hand. On his right hand was Elijah, and on his left was Kol, putting Rebekah right next to me. It was slightly uneven, but seeing as we were an odd number, it could not be helped. Although, I saw in my mother's jumping jaw that the uneven number irked her far more than it should.

The food was brought out in minutes, and much to my mother's distaste of course, it was done in all in one serving. It was meat, potatoes, green beans, with the salad in the middle of the table. My father was much more modern than her. If it was up to my mother we would have had a five course lunch followed by dessert.

"So," my father said as the waiter went around pouring the wine. "Klaus, what brings you and your family here to England?"

Klaus took a sip of his wine before setting it down. "We're coming back a while more, to live."

"I see," my father said over his plate. "So this is not just a visit then."

"No, your majesty, it is not," he continued. "We traveled North America for over a hundred years now, and it was time my family and I returned home."

"How many are your family now?" my father began to eat, still speaking very light about the whole thing.

"Including myself and my siblings, we are nine."

"Nine?" my father frowned.

"With the exception Elijah, we have all wed. We brought with us to England, two others whom are not related by blood but are family none the less, Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert."

Rebekah looked to the king. "Damon is the brother of my husband, Stefan."

"Well," my father said with a smile. "Then we shall accommodate you."

"There is no need," Klaus said easily. "We have already bought apartments."

"No no," my father waved his hands. "We will put you in Bagshot Park."

"Your majesty," Klaus bowed his head. "I am flattered but I—"

"We would be honoured," Kol interjected, sending his brother a very subtle look full of hidden secrets. "What kind of people would we be to refuse the king of England?"

Klaus forced a smile to his brother before looking at the king. "I appreciate it."

"Well," my father said. "You are lords, are you not?"

That was when my mother took over. "As lords and a lady, you are all required to attend every royal festivity. The first one being Princess Tessa's twenty fourth birthday in a month's time."

Klaus bowed his head again. "As you wish, my queen."

"Excellent." My father clapped his hands together. "Now, Lady Rebekah, tell me about your husband!"


	2. Sunglasses

"So?" My best friend and cousin, Jessica bounced on my bed, her brown curls bouncing on her shoulders as she awaited my news the following day. "How were they?"

"The Mikaelsons?" I muttered, looking through my clothes. "They were fine." I was so distracted; my room was a mess. I was flipping through the useless clothing choices my parents had picked for me trying to find where my mother had hidden my normal teenage girl clothes. All I wanted was a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Fine?" Jessica grabbed the book on my bed and began flipping through it. "That's all I get?"

"I don't know Jess," I sighed in exasperation jogging over to my walk-in closet. I raised my voice as I looked at my things inside. "They acted like normal people. They were all annoyingly good looking though, I'll tell you that much." I decided to grab a light, low v-neck cut, blue t-shirt that would go past my hips. This paired with tights would go well enough for me. I walked out of the closet, removing my top. "The pictures in the books are like, from the 1400s or something." I slipped off my pajama bottoms and went over to my drawer, taking out my tights. "They all look a thousand times better now."

"Are they single?" she said excitedly.

I laughed lightly, getting dressed. "All married, except the eldest, Elijah, who, even without the immortality, he's too old for you, so don't even try."

"How old is too old."

"Jess, you're sixteen for crying out loud." I pulled my thick hair into a fluffy ponytail and perched my aviator glasses on my head, before tying a slim brown belt just under my breasts, adding a little bit of style to the simple shirt. "Shoes." I pointed at my shoe closet.

Jessica slid off my grand bed and went over to my closet, looking through it until she found my combats. She chucked them at me. "How old is he?"

"I don't know," I mumbled. "Late twenties?" I shrugged, putting on my boots. I went over to the chair next to my makeup area and grabbed my purse flinging it over my head, letting it rest on my shoulder and lay across my body. "You coming?"

"You know," she followed me out of my room. "You're awfully disinterested in them."

"Well what else do you expect?" we began trotting down the stairs; my mission was to make it out of the palace before my parents could catch me. "Hurry up." I snapped at her.

"I don't know if this is a good idea." Jessica hurried to catch up, nearly tripping down the stairs. "Your parents will freak!"

"Oh come on," I put on my sunglasses, lowering my voice as we reached the main entrance. "They won't even notice I'm gone. Besides, we're in disguise." Which was technically true—with my sunglasses on and myself being dressed in normal clothes as opposed to the gowns I was usually entitled to wear, quite a number of people would pass me by without noticing a thing.

By some miracle, we made it out the front door of the palace, Jessica putting on her sunglasses as well as we sprinted towards the golden gates, making sure to stop every so often to hide behind a bush or a large tree. I would not have my downfall come to the hands of a palace guard, if I was going to be caught, I rather be caught by my parents.

Jessica panted, pushing her hair out of her face. "The things I do for you."

* * *

The feeling of rebelling is quite unlike anything. See, if I was a normal teenager, me sneaking out wouldn't be so much of a problem. The worst that would happen is I would be punished. However, when one is a princess, family problems become public problems, so if I was caught sneaking out of the palace, it could become a public mess.

However, Jessica and I had it all planned out. My parents were out for the day doing god knows what and would only be back in time for a late dinner. So, as long as I was home for about six I would be okay. How to sneak back in? Easy; all I had to do was bribe whoever was guarding the gates. Theoretically, it sounded easy, because if I could convince them, as their future queen to not tell my parents, after that I would just have to climb the vein in back of the palace that led to my window.

I would deal with it later, right now; I was enjoying my time out on the town with Jessica. I walked through the streets of London, enjoying the fact that no one was paying attention to me. Everyone was out and about, doing their own things, shopping, going to work or going out for lunch.

Two hours had passed of pure bliss, Jessica going on a shopping craze while I walked along the stores, simply enjoying the time amongst the hustle and bustle of London. We sat on the steps of Trafalgar square, each opening our sandwiches we had purchased from Subways. It felt good to have something not quite as fashionable as I always ate. I moved my sunglasses up my head when Jessica took out her phone, taking a picture of the two of us.

I laughed loudly; keeping my sunglasses perched on my forehead while I ate.

"You know," Jessica sighed. "It's too bad we're royal." She murmured. "We would be amazing teenage girls."

"We would," I agreed, taking a bite. "I'm surprised no one noticed us."

"This is London," she waved her hand. "No one notices anything in London. I bet you someone will trip over us and not even apologize."

I laughed. "Thanks for coming with me today."

"No problem cousin," she nudged me with her shoulder.

"What time do you have to be home by?" I asked, taking a sip of my Cola. She lived in Clarence House. Thankfully, both our homes were about a fifteen minute walk from where we were, and about two minutes apart from each other. In all honesty, it worked out perfectly. At this time of day anyway, the guards were more concerned with the tourists walking through our homes than us leaving them.

"Miss Tessa?"

I froze, closing my eyes as I turned, opening them slowly to face my prosecutor. Standing behind me, wearing black pants, a slightly unbuttoned white top with a nice sports blazer on top, was Elijah Mikaelson.

I scampered up, my food and drink left on the floor. "Lord Elijah," I hissed, looking around me. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sure I should be asking you that Princess," he took the sunglasses off my head and placed them over my eyes gently, his fingertips brushing behind my ears. He smiled softly. "From the astonished look from you and your companion, neither of you were expecting my arrival."

Jessica stood up and grinned stupidly at Elijah—she obviously thought he was gorgeous. Which, in all honesty, he was; I however, was just better at hiding my feelings. "Jessica," she shook his hand. "Cousin."

I rolled my eyes.

"Pleasure," he nodded with a small smile. "I take it from the way you're dressed that no one knows you're here." he seemed to be in disapproval, as if he himself was a guard. There was however, a tiny, nearly untraceable hint of an arrogant smile at the corner of his lips. For a mere moment, I saw in him, his younger brother Kol.

"I'd like it to stay that way." I hissed.

Jessica shrugged. "Well it doesn't matter that I'm here, I'm always in London."

Elijah stared at me. "Should I take you home princess?"

"Stop calling me that," I snapped.

Jessica bit her lip. "Tessa, maybe he should. I mean if your parents _do_ find out, and they find out Elijah saw you, that'll get you both in trouble."

I turned around at her, looking at her, mouth open. "Are you _kidding_ me? You're taking his side?"

"I'm just saying that—_ow_!" she staggered, Elijah catching her arm as a man bumped into her. Her arm hit my back, making me stumble forward, my glasses falling to the floor and crashing. I moaned, leaning down to look at the broken pieces of my favorite aviator glasses.

"Perfect." I muttered. I sighed and got back up, realizing that nothing in a day could stay as well as I wanted. I raised my hands in defeat, to Elijah, to Jessica and to the unfair universe. "Fine, fine, I'll go."

"Sorry cousin," she kissed my cheek. "I'll call you later."

"Hey," I grabbed her arm before she could leave. "Where are you going?"

"To meet with my friends," she looked at me. "Oh come on, you _know_ I don't have to go home." she released herself from me and blew me a kiss before scampering down the stairs.

I titled my neck back and looked at the sky, a few strands of my auburn hair coming undone from my ponytail. "This day can't possibly get worse." I moaned.

Elijah chuckled. "You'd be surprised," he offered me his arm, just as he had the day before.

I sighed and went back to the floor, putting my half-eaten sandwich in the bag, curling it on my left arm which would also hold my soda, before twisting my other arm with Elijah. We began to make our way up the stairs, I was being careful not to show my face too much towards the crowd, resulting in me staying particularly close to Elijah.

"Why are you here?" I asked again. "Bagshot Park isn't exactly nearby."

"I fancied a walk." He said majestically.

"You walked here?" I asked in disbelief.

"I have a lot of free time." He smiled. "You on the other hand, I did not expect this."

"In a thousand years you've never seen some teenage rebellion?" I teased, taking some more of my coke.

"Oh Tess, you could not imagine the amount of teenage rebellion I have seen. You, however, are not a teenager."

I smiled but didn't look at him; the fact that he called me Tess pleased me much more than it should. No one had ever called me that before. "You caught me," I continued. "My teenage years are behind me, but I'm still entitled to some rebellion."

"I'd rather you be safe inside the many walls of your palace." He looked ahead. "Humans are not gentle by nature, not since the beginning of time. I would know, I was there, what could stop someone from attacking you?"

"I'm the princess of England." I said in defense.

"All the more reason."

I grinned up at him and saw him smiling lightly, the little pinch of arrogance showing. "How do I know you won't attack me?"

Elijah placed a hand on his chest. "I am a man of honor," he chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets. I still kept my arm wound through his; it was loose, like we had done this so many times before—casual. "I would never attack a beautiful woman such as yourself."

I laughed. "Oh, Lord Elijah you do have a way with words. How many times over the years have charmed a girl with these lines?"

Elijah's smile faltered. "Only once princess Tessa," he was suddenly back to formalities. "At the beginning of my very existence."

"Oh," I said uncomfortably. "A thousand years without loving a soul? That is not a happy life."

"You care little for the feelings of others I see." He looked at me out from the corner of his eye, but I was relieved to find him smiling.

"Oh, I just mean—"

Elijah put his hand up, "Do not worry," he murmured as we walked up to the golden gates of my palace. "It is another story, for a very rainy day."

I nodded. "Well thank you." I mumbled, pointing to my palace. "I should be okay from here." which was true, there were enough tourists for my plan to be executed well enough.

Elijah nodded and opened his jacket, going inside it. He pulled out a pair of sunglasses and handed them to me with a small smile. "So the guards don't see you."

I grinned and put them on my forehead before saying goodbye. "You couldn't have told me that before?"

Elijah took my hand and lifted it to his mouth, kissing it softly—keeping our eyes together the whole time. He straightened them and gave me back my hand. "You have beautiful eyes Tess, I do not wish to see them covered up." Again, he took the sunglasses off my head and put them on for me before bowing his head and disappearing down the road.


	3. Bodyguard

The next day as it was slowly approaching lunch hour, I was interrupted by my maid, Magda. I had been lying on my bed, listening to music. My days as a princess were often filled with hours of complete boredom unless occupied by a royal event. Seeing as it was Monday and Jessica was in school, I didn't have a whole lot to do. I was up to date with all my television shows; I had read all my books and didn't have a sport to play since my father claimed he had business to attend to today. My mother was probably doing some womanly thing, knitting or what not. So I stayed in my room for most of the morning.

Magda came in my room in a hurry, which was much unlike her. She was a cute older woman; I had known her since I was a child. She was about half my height, but she would jump in front of a bullet for me. I loved her, sometimes so much that I thought of her of my mother rather than my own flesh and blood.

"Tessa love," she was the only servant one who didn't call me princess. "Come downstairs immediately, your mother is a whirlwind."

"What happened?" I took off my headphones and put on my slippers. I was still in my pajamas, so I wrapped a robe around me. I put a bandana on to push my hair away from my face.

"I don't know," she grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my room. "But she is demanding your presence."

I frowned and walked downstairs with her, all the way to where we sat to eat our meals. When I got there, I jumped in surprise, tightening my robe around me. What I was wearing under wasn't exactly very lady-like.

"_Mother_," I walked around the table, my arms tightly crossed against my chest. Magda followed me the whole way around. "What is the meaning of this?"

Sitting at the table was Elijah, looking calmly perplexed, while my mother walked in back of my father's chair at the head of the table. She had a newspaper in her hand and was, as Magda had said, a whirlwind. She was inexplicably angry. I had to say though; I didn't quite like Elijah seeing me looking like this. Normally, I didn't look so unprepared when a handsome man was in my dining room, even though that so rarely happened.

Elijah said quietly. "I was summoned." He didn't seem very happy about it. My guess was the Original Vampire was not quite used to being summoned, but rather, he usually did the summoning.

"You tell me Tessa." She snapped. She walked over to my father and slammed the paper on the table, pushing it towards me. "Look who made the front page!"

I frowned and picked it up, sitting next to my father. There in large bold letters read:

**THE ROYAL SCANDAL**

"Oh no," I put my hand to my mouth looking at the two pictures on the front page. The first, the larger of the two, was Elijah and I at the gates of Buckingham, him leaning to kiss my hand, and me smiling. The other right next to it, but considerably smaller was he and I, arm in arm, with one hand over his chest, just as it had been yesterday. I was laughing next to him and our eyes were drawn to each other.

My mother waved her hand angrily. "Go ahead, read it aloud."

I swallowed, avoiding Elijah's gaze, I began to read. "England's golden prize, Princess Tessa, is according to pictures taken yesterday, quite the rebel. The princess was seen dressed as a commoner, arm and arm with an older unidentified gentleman, walking the streets of London. From the square all the way back to the palace they walked arm and arm, before he left her with a kiss on the hand before allowing Tessa to sneak back into the castle that her parents, nor her guards knew she had left from. Could our royal princess be falling for a commoner? After a decade of arranged marriages in the royal family, how will the king and queen react to this?" I put the paper down, not quite wanting to read anymore of it.

"Well?" My mother said.

"Well what?" I mumbled.

"How could you do this to us?"

"Do what? I didn't _do_ anything with Elijah. In fact, I sneaked out with Jessica and Elijah knew I'd be in trouble so he brought me home."

Elijah however, still did not speak.

"How do you expect us to react?" she snapped. "When family members and news reporters start asking questions about you sneaking out with some strange man—"

"Darling—" My father sighed.

"—what are we supposed to say?" she screeched.

"You could tell the press that I didn't get a childhood so the teenage rebellion is kicking in a few years too late!" I snapped back, standing up. "I do not need to take this from you, mother, I am an adult, capable of making my own decisions."

"Clearly not," my father said with a quiet authority. "Since you felt the need to sneak to sneak out, it is quite clear that you in fact cannot make your own decisions. Had you asked us politely to leave the palace in the first place, we would have sent someone with you and Jessica, and the two of you could have surely made your way through London."

"With a chaperone," I said bitterly.

"You are a princess Tessa; this is the life of a princess."

"It does not have to be."

Elijah stood up then, surprising my parents. He fixed the jacket of his suit and looked at them. "If I may your majesties, but seeing as this is not my business in the slightest, I will be leaving. I have my own family issues."

"On the contrary Lord Elijah, but it is your business." My father murmured. "This must be fixed. As the newspaper so rightly pointed out, marriages in this family are arranged to other royal families."

I fumed. "And I told you that I would rather die a widow than marry a man I do not love."

Elijah ignored me. "I had no intentions with your daughter, since as she informed you; I am not the one who asked her to sneak out of the house. While I understand your concerns, it has nothing to do with me. Make of the situation what you will, but I will be leaving. I am sorry for the trouble I have caused."

My mother walked forward. "And what exactly are we supposed to tell the press."

"Tell them what you like," he said nonchalantly. "It does not affect me one way, nor does it affect my family. Next time you wish to see me, a phone call would suffice. Not a band of guards at our doorstep demanding my presence."

I nearly laughed; my father was in shock of Elijah's sudden turn of formalities while my mother was beyond angry at this point. She had never seen someone, besides me, give attitude to my father or herself. This however, was even worse, not because Elijah was of a lower status in their eyes, but he was so calm that somehow that made them more infuriated.

"You are subjects to the king and queen!" she exclaimed.

"I am subject to no man, and no woman." He said with a quiet fury. His eyes were hard as he stared at my mother. "I am an Original Vampire. I have lived longer than your entire bloodline, I did not answer to any king then and I will not answer to one now. If I wanted, I could overthrow everybody in this entire palace in less than a minute without the help of my siblings."

I couldn't stop smiling. My father stood up. "Is that a threat?" he whispered.

"No," Elijah buttoned his jacket. "It is a fact. I'm an Original, show some respect." He looked at me. "Tessa, it was a pleasure seeing you again. Next time however, I hope it is on better terms."

"Wait—" my father walked over to him and stopped him. "What if I could make a proposition for you?"

"What would that be?" Elijah asked.

"We need to pass this off to the press to make it look like it is nothing but fun and games. Like you said, you are an Original Vampire, so what do you say to being a bodyguard?"

* * *

"They're _moving_ here?" I demanded a week later, chasing my mother around the palace as she ordered her maids and servants around.

"Well what do you expect darling after that little scandal you pulled?" she pointed at a frame and motioned to the maid. "That needs to be moved six inches to the left."

The press had bought my parent's story about Elijah being my bodyguard. How they managed to cover up the kissing on the hand or me sneaking through my bedroom window I didn't exactly know, but apparently, it didn't matter anymore. My personal guess was that they had paid the press off not to talk about it anymore—my father clearly didn't want anyone snooping around his personal life. Unfortunately however, that had come with some other ramifications.

"Mother," I continued. "I do not need a bodyguard."

"Your father and I discussed it," she continued walking around, two maids on each side of her, cleaning this and that. "And you seem to be bitter over the fact that you did not get to experience things in London as a normal teenager would have. so, we are letting you, but Elijah must accompany you at all times."

"But mother, I—"

"Tessa," she sighed and turned around. "We are giving you what you wanted. Can you not take it and leave it be?"

I frowned, knowing she was right. "But still," I moaned. "Why are they all moving here?"

"Well it makes no sense for Elijah to go through an hour of travelling every other day. So, he and his family will stay here with us. It's not like we don't have the room, and besides, they are vampires. They can only stay somewhere for so long before people start to get suspicious of their non-aging. It will only be for a few years at most."

"This is ridiculous." I twirled around, going back down the stairs to try and reason with my father. It seemed however, that I was too late.

I stood on the stairs watching two doormen keep the palace doors open as many items were being brought in, followed by just as many people. The Mikaelson's were all present along with four other people, which from the tales I had heard must be the other family members. I went through them quickly in my head, placing my chat with the Mikaelson's upon our first greeting to what I was seeing before me.

The two whom were not Mikaelson's had to be Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert—both of whom were exceptionally beautiful. The man, Damon was tall and lean, with dark hair and matching eyes. Completing his look was a perfectly arrogant grin—he reminded me of Kol. Elena was his equivalent, slim with long, straight brown hair.

Kol was helping his wife bring in her things, her name was, as I recalled Lana. She had spiky dark hair in a pixie like fashion, skinnier than Elena with large cat like eyes. Coming up behind those two was Rebekah and Stefan Salvatore. He had lighter hair than his brother, up in the front with a brooding stance about him.

Then there was Klaus' wife, Caroline Forbes. I couldn't help but stare, and it wasn't because of her looks. Although, I had to admit, she had a natural beauty about her. Her hair was as blonde as Rebekah's but was a series of waves going just past her shoulders. Her eyes were a gorgeous aquamarine color. She wore a sundress with a jean jacket and combat boots and had a great big smile on her face. Yet none of this was why I couldn't stop staring at her and Klaus.

I had never seen such complete love and devotion pass between a couple without a word.

The way Klaus touched her, carefully, his fingers leaving silent kisses on her neck, or her lower back as he led her through the entrance—it was like he was scared of her breaking. The way he looked at her, was as if he had never seen something more beautiful than his entire life, or as if he didn't somehow still believe that he had a woman like this. As for Caroline, she left similar touches to her husband, but less subtle. A hand on his chest or a caress to his cheek—and when they would lock eyes, I felt the need to look away, feeling like an intruder on a private moment.

Elijah walked inside last, thanking the men who had held the door open for him. I couldn't help but allow my gaze to travel over to him. I found myself suddenly getting self conscious, his eyes had a way of piercing you, of travelling so much further than your general appearance. He of course, was dressed more formal than the others—he had a thing for suits clearly. He bowed his head lightly to me and gave a small smile, mouthing a hello.

I grinned back.

"Well," my mother said as she came down the stairs. "Looks like the gang is all here."


End file.
